Never Have I Ever

I've been looking at Lauren Blakely's books for a while now. But I just couldn't seem to pull the trigger and read or listen to one. So when I got the chance to listen to Never Have I Ever, well, I jumped at the chance. Full disclosure, I did receive the audiobook for review, but all opinions are my own.

The story features Piper, a wedding planner, and Zach, a divorce lawyer. It sounds like the start of a bad joke, or a good enemies to lovers romance. Luckily we get the romance. I found both characters to be likeable and was cheering them on for their happily ever after. I loved the cast of secondary characters and the story was quite solid. Honestly, the only thing I think I was missing was that additional conflict that could potentially tear the couple apart. Not to say that the romance was smooth sailing, but it almost seemed too easy.

In most of my audio reviews, I tend to be pretty critical of the narrators. But for Never Have I Ever, I don't have one complaint. I don't believe that I'd ever listened to books narrated by Amanda Ronconi and Jason Clarke before, but this won't be the last. Their pacing and pouring of emotions into their performances really drew me into the story.

I really liked how Ms Blakely brought the game Never Have I Ever into the plot, having multiple characters play over the course of the story. It was a fun hook, and I was happily caught. I believe that I'll be hunting down more of Ms Blakely's books as I'm now a fan and must read more.

Never Have I Ever had so many things I wanted to say and yet, the words are just stuck. How many times can I say the word awesome in a review? I mean, I wouldn't be wrong, because this book is awesome, but I need to be a little more articulate than that. So, here goes...ramblings by Kelly LOL.

Once again, Lauren Blakely hits it out of the park. With Never Have I Ever, Lauren brings depth to her classic rom-com style. Don't worry, I'm not talking Unbreak My Heart type depth, sheesh, I'm still not over that. But Zach is a single father and the way he navigates that gives the story an extra depth that it wouldn't have had without it. A vulnerability. It made him likeable. Sweet. I might have developed a crush...oh well, in my defence, he's the sweetest dad ever, how could I not? But my crush wasn't limited to just him though, I'm an equal opportunities crusher and Piper got the crush treatment too. I just loved how they were together. The chemistry was palpable from the get-go and it never let up. The back and forth with the jibes was hilarious, I'm a huge fan of banter and I thought theirs was some of the best I've listened to recently. Once they finally gave in to their desire, holy mackerel! it was explosive. And did somebody say they wanted steam? Because, I swear, my windows started to condense with the heat level. Zach has a dirty mouth (Thank you, Goddess Lauren). This book is sexy and sweet and swoony. Yes, all the Ss again. But, it's also super funny and has some emotional moments, some of the scenes with the kids were killer—this emotional girl just couldn't handle it. But it just gave the book that much more of a heck yeah from me. Lucy is the sweetest ten-year-old and I dare you not to tear up with a particular scene with her. And Henry is a cutie seven-year-old that you just want to hug all day every day. The way Piper was with them was the icing on the cake, and once again proved that biology doesn't make a family, love does.

Lauren is the freaking Queen of audiobook casting. She always finds the perfect voices for her characters and is willing to introduce her listeners to narrators they may not have heard before. She doesn't just stick with the popular ones—not that there is anything wrong with that—she's an advocate for new talent...even if that's a new talent to you. And I love her for it. I cannot wait to see what she has in store next.

I would love...I'm begging, on my hands and knees, (okay, full disclosure, I'm sat on the bed, but it sounded good, right?) for Lauren to write a full story, or at least a novella, for Piper's sister, Paige (if this exists and I've missed it somebody better tell me right freaking now!). It's a topic close to my heart and I was so happy to have that included and be painted in a good light, that I'd love to see it expanded upon. There were several threads that would make great stories...or that are already available to read/ listen to, or that I know are coming. Exciting times for LB fans.

I have listened to many Jason Clarke audiobooks. I adore his narrations and have for several years, yes folks, before we knew what he looked like I was swooning over his voice, what I can say? I have good taste. So, I knew I was going to enjoy his performance, but I was actually surprised at how much I adored this particular performance. He delivered the perfect balance of sweet, caring dad, and top-notch lawyer, with a penchant for winding up his frenemy. The exchanges between Zach and Piper where hilarious, and once they started the move from enemies to friends, and then more, gah! It was everything, Jason performed it all to a T, and the vulnerability Zach had shone through. There were several scenes with the children that were fantastic, and one that gutted me. I know, I know, I'm too emotional. But you try and not be affected when you're an emotional person and the voice actor is killing it with the emotion and kid voices, I can only survive so much. He just nailed it all and it was fantastic. And exactly why he is so sought after.

I've never listened to Amanda Ronconi before, so, I'll admit, I was a little nervous. I'm a picky listener, that is not new information, I like what I like and if I don't like it, well, yeah, that sucks but honesty is always key. I don't always follow the narrator trends. But I have a question. Why the heck has nobody been shouting about this particular narrator? Have they and I missed it? Then why did nobody make me pay attention? She was absolutely bloody brilliant. I need to go and purchase all the books she's worked on— I do own a couple, as it turns out, yay—because I need more of her awesomeness in my ears. Amanda was perfectly cast as Piper, she had the sweet, girl next door, type of vibe, but, could and would stand her ground and pull punches with the best of them, and that shone through beautifully in the performance. The way she switched from each character flawlessly was astounding. I couldn't get enough.

I think this was the first time that Jason and Amanda have teamed up on an audiobook, and I have to say, it needs to happen again, and stat! Their voices blend so well. The change of character PoV wasn't drastic. It felt like an easy transition for the listener. They both can carry a British accent too, which, as we all know, is something of a stumbling block for this Brit, when she listens. I honestly can't say enough about the quality of the performances, if, for no other reason than the amazing narration, you should listen to this audiobook. The production was great too, with no noticeable issues. I also just want to add that the running time of this audiobook is ALL this book. No sneak peeks, no bonuses, it's all the story and I loved that. I loved that I got to spend over 8 hours with these characters and in their world, not to mention enjoying the voice talent of these particular actors.